Danny Davis: “I'm pleased to join with my colleagues as we take this time to highlight the gravity of the HIV/ AIDS pandemic and…”

“I'm pleased to join with my colleagues as we take this time to highlight the gravity of the HIV/ AIDS pandemic and especially as it affects people of color throughout the world. The Centers for Disease Control, the CDC, reported that approximately 1 million Americans were living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2003, roughly 25 percent of whom were undiagnosed and unaware of their HIV infection. An article in the New York Times this week noted that new HIV/AIDS case estimates are actually 50 percent higher than health experts had previously believed. Furthermore, this infection has started to increase among children at a drastic rate. Through 2005, there have been an estimated 9,000 AIDS cases reported for children under the age of 13. HIV/AIDS is becoming a problem earlier and earlier for more and more Americans. It is very clear that HIV/AIDS is indeed an emergency situation, especially in the African American community. According to the CDC, African Americans make up 13 percent of the Nation's population, but account for 49 percent of the estimated AIDS cases diagnosed since the epidemic began. In addition, African American children make up approximately 63 percent of the estimated HIV/AIDS cases through 2005. Not only are African Americans more likely to get AIDS; they're more likely to die from it, with more than half of all AIDS-related deaths being among African Americans.”